Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill allowing public officials to refuse to perform marriages based on their conscience or religious beliefs.
LGBTQ activists raised concerns about potential discrimination against same-sex couples.
The measure states that a person, “shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs.”
The bill also aims to combat elder abuse and does not impact the number of marriages in Tennessee.
The law prevents officials from denying marriage licenses based on religious beliefs but allows them to opt out of formal ceremonies.
The legislative proposal, “is not expected to have any significant impact on the number of marriages solemnized in Tennessee nor on the number of marriage licenses issued; therefore, any fiscal impact to state or local government is estimated to be not significant,” Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee executive director Krista Lee Carsner stated.
LGBTQ advocacy groups criticized the legislation for potentially excluding LGBTQ+ individuals from equal protection under the law.
